Minister: keep climate change plan in mind

WELLINGTON: The country’s economic rebuild must deliver a more climatefriendly New Zealand, Climate Change Minister James Shaw says.

Mr Shaw has also asked the Climate Change Commission to review the plan to ensure New Zealand adheres to the Paris Agreement to limit global warming.

He said there was a risk, in a bid to quickly green light ‘‘shovelready’’ projects, of countries rushing into stimulative spending without ensuring they are in line with the bigger picture: the goal of reducing emissions.

‘‘We can make choices about how to create employment, rebuild industries, rebuild our export markets, and so on, in a way that serves that longerterm view, not just the immediate response.

‘‘And I have to say my colleagues in the Government are thinking that way,’’ Mr Shaw said yesterday.

He expected some countries, especially developing ones, might backtrack on their environmental progress.

While admitting the progress against the Paris Agreement had not been ‘‘in the best of shape’’ internationally, he did not expect the agreement to collapse.

‘‘I think, frankly, many developing countries who don’t have the kind of health systems to cope with the crisis will find it very difficult to maintain momentum.

‘‘But . . . other countries in the world — South Korea, the UK, the EU at large, Costa Rica and others — have said exactly what I’m saying: that they want Covid

❛ We can make choices about how to create employment,

rebuild industries, rebuild our export markets, and so on, in a way that serves that longerterm view, not just the immediate response

James Shaw

recovery to be directed to help us create a vibrant economy and society, but one that’s at the same time more sustainable and lower emission than the one we’ve got at the moment.’’

Mr Shaw said there had been a historical narrative that the economy and the environment were opposing forces, and that countries could only have one or the other, which he rejected.

‘‘Actually in a number of cases you get optimal outcomes by combining those things together — not treating them as tradeoffs, but actually there’s a synthesis of those whereby focusing on creating good outcomes you actually get the best of both.’’

He had also asked the independent Climate Change Commission to review New Zealand’s plans to address climate change to ensure it would meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5degC above preindustrial levels.

New Zealand was committed to an average 30% reduction on 2005 emission levels over the 202130 period.

Mr Shaw said the country was not on track to reach it with the current settings. — RNZ